Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Graham Warwick
Japan Air Lines (JAL) plans to work with Volocopter to promote the development of urban air mobility (UAM) for passenger and cargo transportation in Japan.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The $162 million contract includes the aircraft, ground-based training systems, a mission planning and debrief system and ground support equipment.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Airbus’ second attempt at flying its Zephyr solar-powered high-altitude pseudo satellite from its test site in Wyndham, Western Australia, ended in failure after encountering turbulent air and breaking up, an Australian accident probe has concluded.
Space

By Steve Trimble
A Matrix-inspired description of the U.S. Air Force's next fighter acquisition suggests substantial cost savings are possible, but not everyone agrees.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The first production example of the Protector derivative of General Atomics’ SkyGuardian medium altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system has made its first flight.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Switzerland’s Kopter Group has begun to hunt for a new boss after chief executive Andreas Lowenstein stepped down.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
For a second time, the International Space Station’s three crewmembers sequestered themselves in the orbiting science lab’s Russian segment this past weekend to help ground teams search for a small air leak.
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA seeks to spark the growth of commercial low Earth economic activity as well as test out a new toilet customized for future deep-space exploration with the planned launch of the 14th Northrop Grumman resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Space

By Tony Osborne
The Czech Republic has selected Rafael’s Spyder air defense system to meet the country’s short-medium range ground-based air defense requirement.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Mark Carreau
A new assessment of radar data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter affirms a likely presence of subglacial liquid water with a hyper saline concentration at the Martian south pole.
Space

By Tony Osborne
NATO’s Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF) is to receive a ninth Airbus A330 Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) after Luxembourg increased its participation in the initiative.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Selected U.S. military contracts from the past week.
Defense

News in brief
Defense

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Narrow approval clears way for Switzerland to replace F/A-18 Hornets and F-5 Tigers starting in the mid-2020s.
Air Dominance

By Steve Trimble
A picture released by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems shows the Sparrowhawk aircraft as a wing store on an MQ-9 Reaper UAS.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
Impresa Aerospace, a supplier to OEMs and Tier 1 military and commercial aircraft manufacturers, has entered U.S. bankruptcy protection and could be taken over by its predominant private equity owner, Twin Haven Capital Partners, according to a Sept. 24 court filing.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Marine Corps is in the middle of an analysis to determine how it will alter its F-35 program of record to comply with the National Defense Strategy, according to a service official.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) will launch a pair of upcoming GPS-III satellites on previously flown Falcon 9 rockets, saving taxpayers nearly $53 million and setting the stage for future reuse missions under SpaceX’s Phase 2 National Security Space Launch contract.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Curtiss-Wright plans to buy Pacific Star Communications, a private provider of tactical communications solutions for battlefield network management, for $400 million in cash, the companies announced Sept. 24.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Raytheon will start building the first pieces of a Microwave Technology Testbed as a new defense against hypersonic missiles under a $9.79 million
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Michael Bruno
DynCorp International, a provider of military logistics and aviation services to federal agencies, will be acquired by Amentum Holdings in a deal expected to close by year’s end.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
In a first-ever assessment of its economic impact, NASA reports its overall exploration, science and technology development activities generated a $64.3 billion benefit in 2019, supporting 312,000 jobs nationwide that contributed an estimated $7 billion in federal, state and local taxes.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Bye Aerospace is looking to advances in battery technology for future six- and nine-seat all-electric aircraft it plans will follow the two- and four-seat eFlyer 2 and 4 now in development.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
A consortium of Airbus Helicopters and rotary-wing operator Heli-Union has been contracted to provide a fleet of helicopters to perform flight testing for the French defense materiel agency, the DGA.
Aircraft & Propulsion